Wednesday, 16 October 2013

Teriyaki Stir Fried Chicken

Stir Fried Chicken

Here is a stir fried chicken recipe that is so economical in style since the vegetables in this recipe are highly adaptable to what you really have on hand and is friendly with your own choices of veggies. The cauliflower, the green beans, the peas, or even a thousand other choices of veggies would still turn out fantastic. The key to perfection of this recipe is in slicing your chicken; thinly slice them as you can to about one fourth inch slices, if not slightly thinner. The chicken, if sliced thinly will cook in a flash and will stay tender. This meal is saucy enough for us but if you like a lot of sauce, you can double it or at least increase by half the sauce recipe in this dish.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN STIR-FRY: The original recipe can yield as much as six servings.

THE INGREDIENTS:

For Stir-Fry:

A twenty ounce can of pineapple chunks, please drain juice, but reserved it for frying

One and one half to two pounds of deboned chicken breasts, please remove the skins

One tablespoon of cornstarch

Salt and pepper to taste

One tablespoon of vegetable oil, plus more as you may need it (I use coconut oil but canola, vegetable or olive oil would work just fine)

Two cups of broccoli florets

One cup of chopped carrots

One red pepper, seeded and chopped or sliced

One fourth cup of the drained pineapple juice

The Sauce:

One half cup of the drained pineapple juice

One third cup of soy sauce, please use the low sodium type

One tablespoon of molasses if available

Two tablespoons of brown sugar

One tablespoon rice vinegar

One clove garlic, finely minced

One teaspoon minced fresh ginger or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger

Two teaspoons of cornstarch

THE PROCEDURE:

Thinly slice the chicken breasts, as per instructions in the ingredients’ list and toss them in a medium size mixing bowl with the cornstarch and salt and pepper. Use only a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Then let the chicken rest on the cornstarch for about fifteen minutes. Prepare all the vegetables according to instruction in the ingredients list.

For the sauce, combine all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl or a liquid measuring cup stir together the ingredients until smooth. Reserve for frying.

Heat a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat on your American stove and add the vegetable oil and wait till rippling and hot.

Add half of the chicken cuts to the skillet in a single layer without overlapping and let it cook until nicely browned, about 30-45 seconds. Flip the chicken over and let it cook through on the other side, for one to two minutes more. Once your chicken is sliced thinly, then it won't take long to cook through them. Transfer the chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken cuts. Once done, reserve the chicken.

Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan if needed and heat again until hot and rippling. Add all the vegetables and pineapple chunks to the pan and stir often, until the vegetables are bright in color but barely tender. Add about one fourth cup of the reserved pineapple juice to the skillet and cover you pan (you can add water here instead of the juice, if desired). Cook to have the vegetables steam for two to three minutes till crisp-tender (add more liquid, if needed, as it dries up).

Add the chicken back to the skillet.

Whisk the sauce to recombine and then stir the sauce into the skillet and simmer for two to three minutes until slightly thickened.

Serve immediately while it is hot and serve in a platter with steamed rice.

Enjoy this stir fried chicken recipe at home and have fun doing it in your own kitchen. Keep on stir frying too.